The Elders’ Rites of Passage

The EROP retreat is a five-day intensive retreat that serves those beginning or already on the eldering journey. Eldering, like all of life, has its own seasons, beginning with the most socially active and energetic eldering years, through the release of roles and responsibilities, the lifting of the eye to a broader, more distant horizon, and the dawning of the Holy Fool within. The EROP retreat holds all these seasons of the Elder, tending to each in turn.

For some, the EROP retreat serves as an entrance into the journey. For others, it is a deepening of work that has been ongoing for a long time. Using ritual, story, time in nature, council, and image, participants are invited to harvest all that has been, sit with death, practice deep listening to the cries of the world, and discern what is theirs to do (and not do) in their final chapter. It is an encounter with life and death that is uncontainable, and calls one deeper into their own story as well as The Great Stories.

Details:

When: September 9-13, 2026

Where: Ekone Ranch, 401 Ekone Road, Goldendale, WA 98620

Pricing (full and partial scholarships available):

• Standard Price – $995.00 (First Time Participants)

• Supporting Price – $1,295.00 (First Time Participants)

• Returning Elders Standard Price – $895.00 (Returning Elders)

• Returning Elders Supporting Price – $1,195.00 (Returning Elders)

Questions? Contact Michael Wright at erop@illumanofwa.org.